The Key to Success

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”

Confucius

Hi lovely motivated people, how’s your week been? Hope you have had a wonderful week and that you are making progress on all those plans and goals that you made earlier this year.

I was thinking about that this week, how at the start of the year, we are usually so motivated and keen, moving into a New Year is always like a fresh page, a new start on making things better. Then a few weeks later, your motivation goes, and you are back into the same old habits that you were determined you were going to change. Has that happened to you? I can guarantee that most of us go through this same pattern every year. So what helps with that? Is there any way to help stop those patterns and start creating ones that work better for you?

This is what I love to help people with most. The Key to Success is simple, get started and keep going. As our quote says, you can go slowly, just don’t stop. I think that’s where most of us go wrong with our goal setting. We have a setback (which is really natural, ‘cos we’re human), then we think “oh what’s the use, I’ll never be able to do this”, or “what’s the point, I’ve blown it now.” Then you slip back into the old ways of being and feel disappointed in yourself that yet again you’ve failed.

Here are some tips to help you to keep going:

Clear vision – have a really clear vision of what you want. Create that vision and make it come alive by engaging all your senses so that you can see, hear, feel, taste and smell what is associated with your vision. Let yourself see who is with you in this vision. Let yourself visualise how you are feeling when you achieve that vision, become immersed in it and constantly remind yourself of it. You can practise visualising at the time of day that works well for you, just 10 minutes first thing in the morning or last thing at night. Make up a folder of images of what you want to achieve and read it periodically, or you could do a vision board that you see first thing in the morning and last thing at night, or have something in your wallet that reminds you of your new way of being. What all of this does is helps your brain believe what it is you are trying to achieve, and helps attract this to you.

Write your goals down – a written goal is so much more powerful and real than just some thing you have thought about. Writing it down makes it real. Preferably write it out in the SMART format, so that it is Specific – not vague, Measurable – so you know whether you have achieved it or not, Attainable – that it is something that you can reasonably be able to achieve, Realistic – that it aligns with you and your values and makes sense for you, Timed – so that you give yourself a deadline. I usually add in another S on the end for Shared – goals shared with others are always more likely to be achieved.

Chunk down the actions – it makes it more do-able and less overwhelming to be able to chunk down your tasks into small steps that you can achieve as easily as possible. Think about being kind to yourself in this, ease into your new patterns. It doesn’t matter if you take longer, the important thing is that you make it easier so you don’t give up.

Create power talk – use affirming language to yourself that helps you believe in your new habits and patterns. If you have got used to telling yourself how useless you are, then change that. Start using powerful, affirming and positive statements to you. That’s what you need to hear most from yourself.

Check in with others – hang out with people who are on your side in this and are committed to your success as well. Buddy up with someone who is trying to achieve something similar, you can encourage and support each other. I remember, the time I most enjoyed the gym and actually kept at it, for the first time in my life, was the time when I had a gym buddy and we motivated each other so much. It made a huge difference, we kept each other accountable, but mostly it was just great to have that ongoing support and company.

I hope you find those tips useful. We are nearing the end of the first quarter of the year, if you are still struggling to achieve your goals, remember to just keep going. Have a brilliant week, taking small steps towards having the life, business, career, or health & fitness that you have always wanted. Get started this week and just keep going!